December 10, 2009 - September 5, 2010
From Jerusalem with Love
A fascinating journey through the Holy Land with art, photos and souvenirs, 1799-1948.
In the exhibition From Jerusalem with Love unique objects and photos tell the story of the special relationship between the Palestine of the 19th and early 20th centuries and European Jews and Christians from 1799 to the foundation of the state of Israel in 1948. From 10th December 2009 to 5th September 2010 a large selection taken from the wide-ranging and exceptional collection belonging to the film maker and collector Willy Lindwer is exhibited in the museum. A treasure-house of art, souvenirs, photos and ceremonial objects from the Holy Land is for the first time to be opened to the public.
In the 19th century the Ottoman Empire steadily lost influence in the Middle East. The radical political changes that took place had as a consequence that Palestine became more easily accessible for travellers, pilgrims, tourists, photographers, painters, benefactors, pioneers and religious groups. The Holy Land, birthplace of Jewry and Christianity, was once again discovered: as a destination where the world of the Bible could be experienced, as a safe haven for the East-European Jews fleeing the pogroms, as a future dream for the predecessors of Zionism, from approximately 1900 as emigration land for the first Zionists, as a place to await the end of times, as an area of research, as a new missionary territory and as ‘terra incognita’ for the first photographers who literally and figuratively put the country in the picture. The Jewish and Christian interventions and investments in and fascination for Eretz Israel – the Land of Israel – were shared with the home front. Many photos, lithographs, souvenirs, ceremonial objects, jewellery, day-to-day objects and travel journals found their way to the living rooms of the Netherlands, Europe and the United States.
The exhibition takes the visitor on a journey past art, folk art objects and tales that tell of an important episode in the pre-history of the present state of Israel. The visitor experiences the atmosphere of 19th-century Palestine. Historical and modern film material from Willy Lindwer’s collection gives an impression of a country re-discovered by Jews and Christians. The exhibition then shows a treasure-house of art objects, photos and souvenirs from the 19th and early 20th centuries that express the special relationship of Jews and Christians with the land of their forefathers, the land of the Bible. Art from the Art Nouveau, the Art Deco and the Bauhaus periods gives an impression of the flowering artistic climate that reigned in Jewish Palestine in the first half of the 20th century. The interplay between the European and local styles and the exceptional significance of Eretz Israel for the Jewish people create a unique language of imagery. Historical photos, travel journals and souvenirs show how travellers, photographers and artists visualised the country in the 19th century. A unique period in the history of the Holy Land is once more brought to life in the exhibition From Jerusalem with Love.
Willy Lindwer
Documentary maker and collector Willy Lindwer lives and works in Jerusalem and Amsterdam. He was born and brought up close to the Waterlooplein, once the heart of the old Amsterdam Jewish quarter. When, in the 1960s, he was a student at the film academy, he bought his first 19th-century Hannukah lamp. His interest in Jewish history, in his own origins and the realisation of what had been lost in the war years persuaded Lindwer to start collecting Jewish objects. Since then his unique collection has assumed impressive dimensions. As documentary maker and television producer he has innumerable documentaries and films to his name and has won a variety of prizes, such as an International Emmy Award for his documentary entitled The Last Seven Months of Anne Frank (1988).
An English/ Dutch catalogue will be pubkished for the exhibition and is available from of April. Special educational material has also been developed for adults. In addition there is a programme of lectures and guided tours for different levels and a garden concert.
Notes for the press:
* Click here to download High-resolution digital images
* Click here to download the press release
* For aditional information please contact Fleur Howes Smith, tel: 020 624 24 36 or pressoffice@bijbelsmuseum.nl
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